Aleix Espargaro led Aprilia team-mate Maverick Vinales home to lead the way in FP2 for the Argentinean Grand Prix, while Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia will have to contest Q1.
With temperatures having risen by around 15 degrees-Celsius since the FP1 test just a couple hours earlier, Aprilia’s RS-GP looked to be dealing with the extra heat the best throughout the session as Espargaro went quickest early on with a 1:39.116s tour, putting him second in the combined times.
The Italian bikes continued to find speed as the session progressed though as the Spaniard fired in a 1:38.956s to go quickest overall, team-mate Vinales soon joining him at the sharp end as he inserted the sister RS-GP into second.
Espargaro would continue to improve until he eventually settled on a 1:38.244s, a gambit that would ultimately prove enough to leave him at the head of the timing pylon as the chequered flag was shown, Vinales’ earlier effort enough to remain second 0.210s adrift.
Jack Miller managed to sneak in the third best time as he utilised a handy tow from fellow Ducati riders Francesco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi ahead, while Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and KTM’s Brad Binder completed the top five riders heading directly to Q2.
Suzuki duo Alex Rins and Joan Mir followed up next in sixth and seventh just ahead of Pramac Ducati pairing Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco, while Luca Marini managed to bang in a last-minute improvement to snatch tenth – and the final automatic Q2 passage – away from Miguel Oliveira by just 0.009s.
Also missing out was FP1 leader Takaaki Nakagami as Honda looked to have lost their earlier advantage as the temperatures increased, the LCR man the quickest of the RC213-V pilots in 13th with Pol Espargaro only 17th on the best of the factory Honda’s having suffered an early crash at Turn 1.
The opening bend would also claim another pair of victims during the session, Tech 3 KTM rookie Remy Gardner the first to fall foul at the start of the session before VR46’s Bezzecchi ran in too hot and lost the front as the session approached its conclusion.
Bagnaia would also miss out on a direct-to-Q2 opportunity as he struggled to find grip on his Desmosedici, the Italian 12th ahead of fellow Ducati riders Bezzecchi in 15th and Qatar GP victor Enea Bastianini in 16th.
